Rarely does anything even hinting at the label “philosophical” come close to being produced by a Hollywood studio, especially in the summer. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is such a movie, though. More than half of it is spent meditating on the birth of free will and the nature of violence.

This reboot is actually smart, and it’s propelled by a volcanic lead performance. I’m not talking about James Franco. He plays a fairly typical scientist motivated to cure a disease for personal reasons (his dad has Alzheimer’s). I’m referring to Andy Serkis, who breathes so much life into the role of the ape Caesar that it comes close to touching what he did in the Lord of the Rings films. He shows the true artistry of motion-capture acting.